Between nursing, swaddling, rocking, feeding and changing diapers, it's almost impossible to find time for yourself, let alone time to break out the workout gear and hit the treadmill. Without any extra time in your schedule for exercise, it can be a challenge for a new mom to lose weight. But there are ways you can care for your baby and burn calories at the same time.
Breastfeed Your Baby
Breastfeeding is one of the fastest ways to burn calories postpartum. A nursing mother can burn up to 500 calories a day while nursing. When you breastfeed your baby, your body draws nutrients from reserved fat. As that fat is burned off, the extra pounds melt away. Not only is breastfeeding a way for new mothers to lose weight, it also gives you and your baby exceptional bonding time. Breast milk is also believed to be the best source of nutrition for a newborn baby.
Dance With Your Baby
After you have the go-ahead of your physician to exercise, put on some jazzy music, secure your baby in an infant sling, and dance with your little one. If she's old enough, she'll squeal in delight while you sashay across the house. At the same time, you are burning calories. Don't dance too fast, or you might upset that little bundle of joy, but keep a moderate tempo to help raise your heart rate.
Join a Post-Natal Fitness Group
Post-natal fitness groups help new moms lose the baby weight and get back into shape in the company of other moms who have the same goas. Some groups are led by professional trainers. Others just consist of several mothers. In both cases, every mother in the group has her baby in tow. Usually the leader incorporates the baby into the workout. Ask your obstetrician to recommend a post-natal fitness group in your area.
Take a Mommy and Me Swim Class
Enroll in a mommy and baby swimming class to lose weight with your baby. Even though you may not feel like putting on a bathing suit soon after pregnancy, it will be worth it when your baby finds great thrills in splashing around in the water, secure in your arms while you get a no-impact workout. Try not to be self-conscious. Most of the other new moms in your class will be trying to lose baby weight also.
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